By Dominic Miles

The men’s soccer team took a trip to Herford, Germany, Quincy’s sister city, for some pre-season training. The team left on July 28 and returned to the U.S. on August 11. The NCAA only allows an international trip every four years so for many players, this will be their only trip out of the country for QU soccer.

“The idea is to get everyone coming together as a team early on to have a leg up on our opponents,” QU senior midfielder and 2015 Great Lakes Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Year Taylor Reis said. “It was nice getting away from everything and having a little vacation time, too.”

The Hawks enjoyed their experiences on and off the field. The team visited historic war monuments, a German automobile facility, and they even had an exclusive tour of a Champions League Team in Wolfsburg.

“Growing up in Quincy, it was nice to see our sister city and what it had to offer,” Reis said. “I enjoyed my time I spent there especially with my host family.”

German host families housed, fed, and showed the team around. Most of the players were two to a family, while few had to stay by themselves.

“With playing some high level talent and fending for ourselves so far away from home, it results in a boy maturing into a young man which is a necessity for college and soccer,” senior Pete Condol said.

While in Germany, the Hawks played seven games and ended with a record of 5-0-2.

Also another Quincy University team that is going out of the country for a preseason game is the men’s basketball team. They will be traveling to Puerto Rico for two games for a Thanksgiving tournament.